The Irish pop band wow a 14,000 strong Manchester Arena crowd in comeback concert
BY DIVA STAFF
The English leg of Westlife’s highly anticipated Twenty Tour got underway last night in Manchester. Fans could hardly contain their excitement, as the popular pop foursome proved that they were back, better than ever.
The tour got under way in Belfast and will finish in Indonesia 46 shows later.
More than 560,000 tickets were sold in 48 hours as fans yearned to get glimpse of the band back in action.
The evening started with upbeat renditions of some of their newer material including their latest hit Hello My love and Better Man, which was co-written by Ed Sheeran. The opening of the show also included energetic performances of some of their older hits including Uptown Girl and Swear It Again.
All accompanied by bright rainbow lights, colourful pyrotechnics and intense flames.
The group were clearly delighted to be back with Shane Filan commenting “All the number ones, all the memories… We missed you so much.”
Others cheered as Mark Feehily paid tribute to his partner, Chilean O’Neill, after the pair announced they were expecting a baby earlier this week.
The Twenty Tour marks the start of what the band describe as “Westlife 2.0”. It is Westlife reinvented and it looks like they’re here to stay. Their latest album Spectrum will be released later this year.
The concert progressed into smoother notes as the band rolled back the years through their soul-stirring ballads including Flying Without Wings and World Of Our Own. A nostalgic return of the famous Westlife saw the fans loving the ballads before the the 14,000 strong audience was treated to a Queen medley.
Their touching tribute to the victims of the Manchester Arena attack with a rendition of You Raise Me Up oozed class.
Overall, a powerful, passionate performance pleased the crowd. It is clear that Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Nicky Byrne are here to stay.
The tour continues.
Visit www.westlife.com for more.
